Be Honest with Your Students
by Mark Horne
Summary: Sarutobi has a different conversation with a young Orochimaru at the grave of his parents. Based on episode 114 of Shippuden. One-shot.


**A/N** I do not own Naruto or other associated characters and settings.

00000

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked down at the pale boy hunched over his parent's grave. The boy was one of his pupils, Orochimaru, just recently graduated from the academy. The boy stiffened as a strong breeze blew through the cemetery and then lifted up his hands to his sensei.

"Sir, what is this?"

It was the discarded skin of a snake. Sarutobi's heart ached for the boy who had so loved his parents. He wanted to tell the child a nonsensical story he had heard once about snakeskin being a symbol for renewal and that it might be a sign that he could see his doting parents once again in this world. But he finally decided that such lies would not benefit a child being groomed for the ninja lifestyle. He knelt down in front of Orochimaru and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That's just a snakeskin, you can throw it away. It's time for you to learn one of the truths of this world and the path you chose to follow. All things are temporary. Human life is no exception. For all our training and jutsus death cannot be avoided. Instead it is to be accepted. It is not to be feared. Trying to prevent death is like trying to stop the sun from rising. Any time that is spent in fear of death is time that is wasted. Use what you have the best you can."

"Why do we train so hard to defeat our enemies then? Should we not let them kill us?" asked the boy.

Sarutobi laughed. "Accepting death is not the same as longing for it. You may have to wake in the morning, but you will attempt to stay in bed as long as you can."

Orochimaru nodded. That seemed to make sense. Living was pleasant; therefore he should keep living. But death, though not a happy occasion, was not to be feared. There was nothing else to it. One day he would die and he would do so willingly. Sleeping was nice, but being awake wasn't bad at all. It was only the transition between the two that was unpleasant.

"Thank you sensei, I will meditate on your words."

The older man smiled and ruffled his student's hair. "Before that let's have lunch. Hot dango and egg drop soup?"

The boy was hungry, but time had suddenly gained a new importance with its newly discovered limits. How could lunch be its very best?

"Could we bring Tsunade and Jiraiya?" he asked. He had few enough people who were dear to him and now he was two fewer. He would take every chance to share time with those close to him now.

"Of course," said Sarutobi.

00000

The next time someone important to Orochimaru died was during the Second Great Ninja War. This was Nawaki, Tsunade's brother, and because of that association, a friend of Orochimaru. The boy treated Orochimaru as an older brother, teased him about the amount of time he spent with Tsunade, and begged often for training. Besides a few simple jutsus, Orochimaru never did train him. He decided very early that Nawaki was too stubborn to really learn anything and viewed the world too simply to grasp nuances. There were better, less frustrating ways to spend his slowly diminishing time than by teaching Nawaki. Yet when the war came they fought together.

Nawaki was headstrong and overconfident and Orochimaru had nothing but his necklace to return to Tsunade. He placed his hand on her shoulder as Sarutobi had done for him and held the necklace out to her. He prepared his words carefully, but there was no need. Tsunade took the necklace with a glower.

"That idiot," she spat and turned and stormed out before Orochimaru could see her tears.

He stood there, empty hand hovering in the air. He hadn't expected anger. It made sense given Nawaki's general recklessness and Tsunade's demeanor. But being angry with death was just as futile as being sorrowful with it.

Orochimaru felt neither anger nor sorrow as he stood at his friend's funeral. Tsunade wouldn't talk to anyone including him and Jiraiya. She was gone immediately at the end of the ceremony and he could only watch her walk away, the arm of her fiancée Dan draped around her shoulders, as Jiraiya suggested sake to take their mind off it. The young man didn't feel the need to tell his comrade that his mind was already off of it. There was no time in life for suffering, especially not for the inevitable. But he had a hard time believing that Jiraiya would understand, and in any case he would rather spend the time with his best friend in a more upbeat manner.

At the bar Jiraiya used his funeral garb to gain the sympathy of two women, and out of courtesy offered one to Orochimaru. The dark haired man refused, despite the obvious interest of the woman. Jiraiya wasn't surprised or insulted and instead took two women home with him that night. Orochimaru left the sake house soon afterwards himself. If there was no time for suffering, he thought, there ought not to be time for mindless pleasure. It was better to find other ways to use that time, perhaps developing new techniques or creating … something. If his lifespan was limited, than at least there must be something he could do for the world that would reside after him.

00000

Not long after, Orochimaru watched as Tsunade pushed burst after burst of healing chakra into the body of Dan. This time he saw her tears. As did the other medical ninjas who shouted at her. He watched from his perch in a tree and pondered the fragility of humans. She would suffer again, as she had with Nawaki's death, this time with sorrow instead of anger. It was a waste. Her beautiful life would be marked with pain again, and it would last all too long.

He would tell her this time of Sarutobi's words and hope that she understood as he did and that she could slough off her suffering to enjoy her time as best she could.

But in a world as violent and arbitrary as theirs, how could she accept it so readily? Was she to blame, or was this the life of a ninja? He, Tsunade, and Jiraiya had been responsible for many deaths. How many times had this scene before him played out for someone else?

Orochimaru gritted his teeth. Sarutobi was the only sensei he knew that had told a pupil how to accept death. The others only taught their students how to deal it out. After this war, when he had his own team to train, he would rectify this. But even this was such a small thing. Would three students understanding death make a difference in the suffering of mankind? Using every moment he had would not be enough to relieve the suffering. If there was one person who suffered as Tsunade did for each death, then the collective pain was insurmountable.

Frustrated, he slammed a fist into the tree. Why was there a jutsu that could cause the death of Dan, but not one that could heal it?

Below him Tsunade collapsed onto her love, her screams rending the night.

Death was inevitable, but did there need to be so much research into causing it? Why were there more jutsus that killed than ones that healed? He decided that would be another point he would rectify.

00000

At the inn later that night Orochimaru decided, as he listened to Tsunade's sobs through the thin walls, that he would wait no longer to share Sarutobi's wisdom. He did nothing to conceal his entrance into her room, and her tears paused abruptly when she heard him. He attempted to move across the room to her, but instead she ran to him, clutching her dearest friend with all the force she had.

He realized this now, as her tears erupted again, her head buried in his shoulder. With Dan gone, he and Jiraiya had become more important. Her world had shrunk one person, and there was empty space that needed to be filled. He had done the same with his comrades after his parent's death, but the care he had for them was not returned in equal measure, after all their parents still lived. Now, with Tsunade, it would be.

He shook those thoughts. It was time to heal her suffering. "Tsunade," he began.

"No," she whispered, pulling back to look at him. "I don't want to hear platitudes, or 'sorry's, or wise words about death. I just want Dan back. And if he won't come back, I want to cry, and ache, and scream, and get rid of all the love I'll never get to show him. Just hold me, and don't say a word."

Orochimaru, who thought he understood his friend, was surprised. But he wrapped his arms around her and held her to him and she cried and cried through the night. The only comparable loss he had was his parents, and he had for so long felt nothing for their deaths that he could not comprehend how she could suffer so. It was illogical. But as he thought of his parents and the brief memories he had of them, a special dinner at a birthday, or the pride as they saw him graduate at the top of his class, he began to feel. What started as a trickle of emotion soon cascaded uncontrollably and he cried as well. The pain of his loss fully struck him for the first time in his life and he immediately felt the hole that he thought had been filled with his friends.

They cried together for some time until Tsunade pulled away again, her eyes red and still brimming with moisture. She looked up at her friend again, a small, pained smile on her face.

"I didn't know you had that in you. I always thought you didn't feel anything."

A chuckle stuck in his throat. "Hardly. I always felt happy when I was with you and Jiraiya. I just didn't want to waste my time on other feelings, especially pain."

She gave a soft laugh. "This didn't feel like a waste did it?"

He shook his head. "No. I always thought there wasn't enough time in life to bother with suffering. But this, it hurt, but, I feel …"

"Better?"

"Yes. I don't know why, I wasn't in pain before."

She brushed away some tears from his face. "Sometimes you can be without knowing it. Sometimes these emotions aren't all bad. Thank you for being here for me. There wasn't anyone else that could have helped like you have. Jiraiya can't stand to be around a crying woman."

Orochimaru chuckled. "He can be a coward sometimes. Anyway, I've been thinking. There aren't enough medical jutsus. Together I think we can invent new ones; more powerful ones. I'd like to work with you when we get back to Konoha."

Her smile caused him to feel deeply, though he did not know just what.

"Of course."

00000

The war delayed their return for some weeks, and it was not until the night they were christened the Sanin that they were able to make their way off of the battlefield. It was a dreary night, and despite Tsunade's medical jutsus they were all sore from the clash with Hanzo. They attempted to escape the constant rain and cold inside a cave. It was not until Jiraiya lit a fire that they discovered they were not alone.

A child appeared, soaked to the bone, his face one of pain.

"Who're you?" asked Jiraiya.

"C-can I have some please?" replied the boy indicating the food the trio had been preparing.

"Where are your parents?" asked Jiraiya.

"They got killed in the war," replied the boy, anger simmering in his words.

Jiraiya held out a package of crackers. "Here, have some."

The boy didn't move, but turned his head and shouted. "Hey Nagato, Konan, come out! He's not a bad guy!"

Two other children, a boy and a girl stepped hesitantly out of the shadows. They fell upon the crackers with abandon and then the three of them retreated, staying just in the light of the fire, but away from the ninjas. The Sanin exchanged glances, but said nothing else.

When they had rested enough they packed their belongings and set out again for Konoha. The children followed them, several paces behind. After an hour of this, Tsunade spun around.

"We already gave you food! What else do you want?" she snapped.

The first boy, Yahiko, stepped forward. "You guys are Leaf ninjas, right? Teach us ninjutsu, please?"

The girl then handed Jiraiya a rose origami, shaped from the wrapper the crackers had been in.

"Why don't we take them to Konoha?" said Orochimaru. "All these kids orphaned by the war have nothing but pain and suffering waiting for them here."

"Are you off your Goddamned rocker Orochimaru?" asked Jiraiya.

"No," the black-haired ninja said. "Konoha will need a new generation one day. And in any case, you're always talking about that child of prophecy that will be your pupil. One of them could be it."

"It had crossed my mind to train them," Jiraiya admitted. "I guess I could do that just as well in Konoha as out here."

"We can't just make Konoha an orphanage for every child," said Tsunade.

"I think we can," said Orochimaru. "It would make it easier for Jiraiya if he didn't have to wander about and the children came to him. If you need a practical reason, we will need someone to replace our own lost soldiers. If you need a sentimental reason, I think I'm growing tired of causing suffering in others."

Tsunade and Jiraiya stared at each other. "Alright," said Jiraiya. "Come on kids! Do your best to keep up, we've got a long trip!"

00000

When they arrived in Konoha some days later Jiraiya set about training his three new pupils. The war was in its waning days and the Sandaime was pleased to have his former students returned safely. He approved of Orochimaru's idea of opening Konoha to all the orphans of the war, and found surprising support from the council and particularly his former rival Danzo.

Many children found their way to Konoha including one Minato Namikaze, who would make quite a name for himself in the following years. The jounin of Konoha were flush with new students to train, and though not every child who arrived at the city was shinobi quality, they did swell the ranks of the academy.

Jiraiya spent three years training the orphans of Amegakure that he had met that fateful night. They all became talented ninja, particularly Nagato, who bore the legendary power of the Rinnegan. Once his training with Jiraiya was completed, Nagato was promoted to jounin and successfully completed every mission assigned to him. He became the jewel of Konoha, and other villages came to admire, and to fear, what the Leaf possessed.

This fear caused the other four Kages to draw closer to each other, and though the drumbeats of war began to sound, few could hear them. Konoha was experiencing one of its most prosperous times. Nagato's successes meant that the Leaf could charge top dollar for its services and that money was used to fund production of other goods that could be traded. A great deal of ryou went to jutsu research, and Orochimaru's goal of creating new medical jutsus was a rousing success. With Tsunade's aid he was able to perform the first true regeneration technique that did not shorten the lifespan of the receiver.

The first test subject successfully regrew a damaged eye and arm. Orochimaru even went so far as to heal a bizarre facial scar on the man's chin. That man was Danzo. Danzo was also notable for being one of the few people in Konoha that sensed the approaching conflict with the other villages.

Unfortunately, Danzo became implicated in kidnapping orphans as they entered Konoha and recruiting them into a secret organization called Root. He could no longer be trusted and was imprisoned as a traitor. The only voice warning of war was silenced.

Not long after, the Third Great Ninja War began.

00000

As it turned out the other Kages were right in fearing the Rinnegan. Nagato proved invincible, and any opponent that came before him fell. But there was much glory to be won and many other ninjas made names for themselves during the conflict, including Minato Namikaze. His techniques proved so powerful that the enemy issued a 'flee on sight' order for him.

Orochimaru found glory as well, though not on the battlefield. He found new ways to deliver his regeneration jutsu via elemental jutsus, enabling the creation of healing mists for burn victims or as liquids that could be stored and applied later. Medical ninjas became increasingly versatile and effective and casualties dropped by 80 percent towards the end of the conflict. Unless a Leaf ninja was killed instantly, or his whole body dismembered, he would survive and return to the battlefield. Those with crippling injuries were stabilized and brought back to Orochimaru who could regenerate any limb or other once permanent injuries.

Despite the powers of the Rinnegan and the skills of Minato, the war could not have been won without the ordinary chunin. And it was Orochimaru that allowed Konoha to continually return their brave men and women to the field. As the other nations weakened from loss of numbers, Konoha stayed at nearly the same level of power. There was a reason Orochimaru was listed in bingo books for 50 million ryou. Actual assassination attempts were few and far between. What most would-be bounty hunters found was that Orochimaru was just as skilled in battle as he was at healing.

The good Orochimaru saw himself accomplishing was amazing. He had taken suffering from so many of his fellow villagers and replaced it with hope and strength. He took great pride in his work, but there was a peculiar absence in his life that he could not describe.

He decided to talk to Tsunade about it. After all she had always listened to him and provided excellent advice.

Orochimaru did not need to seek her out once he had made the decision to speak to her about what was bothering him. Instead she found him in the hospital after a long day that had left him nearly chakra depleted and exhausted.

"Come on! You need a break. We're going to get some dango."

She was happy, quite a bit happier than he had seen her in a long time, at least since the start of the war. All of her long hours at the hospital had been a burden on her. He had seen her less frequently than before, but they tended to grab some sake on occasion with Jiriya. Now, though, she was positively beaming.

"Sure, I'd be glad to." He gave her a sideways glance as he grabbed his medical bag.

"What's that look for?" she demanded, with a look of outrage. Mock outrage, that is, he had learned to see through when she was exaggerating.

"Just noticing, that's all."

The left the room and started down the hallway to the exit.

"Noticing what?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

"You seemed happier than normal. At least for a moment."

She laughed and dispelled her fake anger. "I've just heard some great news from the front lines. It seems Minato and his team destroyed the Kannabi bridge. The enemy's supply lines will be crippled. The war shouldn't last much longer."

"Finally," Orochimaru smiled as well.

"What will you do with yourself when you can't heal patients all day and night?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied.

They turned a corner and the dango shop came into view. "Well I'm thinking that maybe the legendary sanin will get to spend some time together. With us in the hospital and Jiraiya constantly training students, we never see each other anymore."

"It is odd. I can hardly remember the last time I stopped for dango. And I certainly can't recall when the three of us shared a bottle of sake after a mission."

"The three of us? You never touched the bottle, it was me and Jiraiya that always drank the whole thing."

Orochimaru crossed his arms. "One of us had to stay sober to keep order. And a drunk Jiraiya around you would only lead to perversion."

She laughed and they entered the small café and ordered. Once they were seated Orochimaru leaned in and spoke low, his expression back to its usual seriousness.

"Tsunade, I want to speak to you about something personal. Every day I go to the hospital and I work until I can't keep going. The suffering I heal is substantial. I feel elated when a man can move his arm again."

"But," she said simply taking a bite of the dango. "Something is missing."

He nodded, a little unsure of himself. "Yes, I think."

She took a long draught and looked him in the eye. "You're like the world. There's this great hole in the ninja world that we all keep trying to patch with wars. But you and I know it won't work. The wars, the violence, they won't fill that hole. They just continue the cycle and make things worse. Something else has to fill this gap. And I think it would settle what you're missing too."

"What is that?"

She looked at him across the rim of the teacup in her hand. "Love."

The man snorted. "Sentimental Tsunade. There isn't enough love in this stupid world to fill that cup. And what would I do with such a thing? I wouldn't even know where to start looking. There's no time for dating with all the wounded at the hospital. I'd be better off reading one of Jiraiya's books."

"I can't believe some of the trash he's written. But forget that." She leaned forward across the table. I think, Orochimaru, that you wouldn't need to look far to find love. And I also think if you want to change this world, creating a little love would be the best way to do it."

He stared at her, his heart suddenly racing. A little smile was on her lips. He found himself staring at those lips. "Are you serious? Me?"

She placed a hand on his. "You're a medical genius, but an idiot at reading people. I fell for you a long time ago. You're, well we're, lucky I found the courage to tell you how I feel. I don't think you'd ever make a move."

"Wha? You're the bravest – "

"You saw what happened to me after I lost Dan. I didn't want that to happen again. But I couldn't help it. I'm in love with you Orochimaru. There's no one I'm closer to, no one who knows me like you do. And after all we've been through, the battles, the wars, I don't think I'll ever lose you. You make me feel safe. But most importantly, you do such good. Your soul is so kind. It's time someone returned that kindness."

She took his face in her hands, pulled him closer and kissed him deeply. It was his first kiss. Uncomfortably, emotions whirled in him, feelings he had no name for, no experience with. He knew sadness, anger, the fleeting happiness of pride, weariness, calm. This was how he often was at peace with himself and his life. He had known no suffering as his master had taught. But now there was something new, but familiar, like those days as a child that he could spend playing with his teammates, before the realities of the shinobi life descended and he was drawn into battle after battle. He had lost the other message Sarutobi had taught; that life was temporary, that time should be spent as best it could.

He drew back from the long kiss. He looked into her eyes. His life for these recent years had been about removing suffering, but perhaps he was capable of more. The look in her eyes made him feel warm; it gave him energy and a new kind of clarity. He could do more than ease suffering; he could create true happiness, at least for this woman in front of him.

What was this feeling? It was love.

He knew it then, and he could see with his new clarity that to live his life to the fullest, and to make the most of his limited time, he needed to be with Tsunade.

"Marry me," he said.

Her body shivered and her eyes brimmed with tears. "Yes."

They locked again in another kiss, deep and passionate, free of the shock and trepidation of his first kiss. Orochimaru found the second much more enjoyable.

Behind a nearby hedgerow Jiraiya shook his fist. "Bastard! If Tsunade had lost this bet she finally would have gone to the hot springs with me. I should have realized he wasn't the cold fish he appeared. I wish him luck. Maybe she can draw the hidden pervert out of him. And then maybe he'll tell me about it! It will be a best seller for sure!" He cackled to himself with glee.

Despite Jiraiya's best attempts Orochimaru never told him anything, not the next day, not after the wedding, or the end of the war. Unhindered by the need for truth, Jiraiya used his extensive imagination, and the story of Morochimaro and Hsunade was indeed a best seller.

00000

At the end of the Third Great War Hiruzen Sarutobi took the moment of peace to step down from the position of Hokage and retire. He passed his mantle, with the council's blessing, to Orochimaru, who hesitantly accepted. The sanin had no desire to put his research on hold. He was also reluctant to take up a task that would keep him away from Tsunade.

But after much pressure from Tsunade, Jiraiya, and his former students, Orochimaru came to see it as a chance to reach beyond the walls of Konoha and bring peace and happiness to the other countries of the world.

The jounin voiced their unanimous support for him and the transition ceremony was one of great happiness. The only ones not thrilled by the development were the Uchiha clan elders, who decided that the time was drawing near for a change in Konoha's leadership. Their power had been ignored too long.

But the first true challenge Orochimaru faced was the night the demon Kyūbi descended on the village. Initial defenses were obliterated, and many Leaf ninja were destroyed, but when the beast and its rider reached the walls, it faced what would have struck terror into any other foe: Orochimaru atop Manda, side-by-side with Minato atop Gamabunta, and the toad sage Jiraiya upon Gamabunta's fearsome wife Gamabinta. The battle was all the more desperate for Orochimaru as his wife Tsunade was in labor with their daughter.

Minato fought with all of his might as well, for at his home was his wife and week-old son Naruto.

The clash was one that cannot be described, but it is to be known that the combined might of those three warriors could not defeat the Kyūbi. That task instead fell to the expert sealing team trained by the three and led by Shizune. Once the demon was contained, a process that almost killed the sealing team, Madara Uchiha was alone against the world's strongest ninjas.

It was his finest, and final, battle.

Afterwards, Kyūbi, sealed inside a scroll, was placed in a warded safe and then buried under the hokage monument. Only ANBU were used for this project so that the Kyūbi could never be found or released.

Once the immediate threat was dealt with Orochimaru realized that a new threat was out there. The tailed demons were creatures of disastrous power, and the one who held sway over it was an Uchiha. This put Orochimaru in a powerful position. He could assist the other countries by capturing the remaining eight demons and sealing them away. He ordered all of the Uchiha shinobi to leave the village and search out the rest of the tailed demons, seal them, and return them to Konoha. This was to be a mission of the utmost stealth. The other villages might question why Konoha was securing all of the demons and could mistake it as an attempt to gain more power. That was hardly the case, Orochimaru simply wanted them restrained from doing any damage in the future, but the other villages were too paranoid to believe that.

The Uchihas, still not ready to commence their revolt, found themselves with no choice but to accept the hokage's order. After all, the citizens of Konoha would not stand for their refusal of a mission that would so obviously protect them from harm in the future. The Konoha police force was turned over to the Hyūga clan, who with their Byakugan were better equipped to solve crime anyway, and the best ninja of the Uchiha clan left for a dangerous S-class mission. The clan was scattered across the world in search of the monsters.

Their budding revolution was put on hold, and eventually, after many, many Uchiha lost their lives in different corners of the world, was ended. No one else ever knew of it.

Itachi Uchiha, who had witnessed the destruction of the Third Great Shinobi War, was grateful to be involved in something that would bring stability to the world. He was a survivor of the tailed beast search and upon his return led a peaceful, simple life.

Iruka Umino got to hear many scary stories from his parents about the Kyūbi attack and had a very happy childhood with his family. He would grow to be an excellent instructor at the academy.

All in all, Konoha was a very happy place for a long time.

00000

It had been twenty years since Orochimaru had truly faced death. He did so again one morning in the fall as his mentor Hiruzen Sarutobi lay in a hospital bed. The former hokage was surrounded by loved ones. His former students Tsunade and Jiraiya were there, as were his two sons, their wives, and his two grandsons. Konohamaru and his four-year-old cousin looked on with tears in their eyes. Sarutobi smiled out at all of them.

It was time.

"I never dreamed the village would be where it is today. All of you … all of you have done do much. Please carry on this way of life … please spread peace to all the villages."

The monitors near his bed let out a shrill noise and then went silent.

"Cure him! Do something! Don't let him die!" Konohamaru grabbed Orochimaru's robes and shook him.

"There is no cure for death. He has been waiting for this day."

"You've saved so many people!" pleaded Konohamaru. "Why won't you heal him!"

The hokage placed a hand on the teen's shoulder and gently pushed him back. "I ended their suffering and repaired their bodies, but I could not bring them back from the dead. Your grandfather, he had no suffering for me to relieve. He was ready to leave this world. It is something we all must do, just as we all must wake in the morning. There is no need for tears here. I carry his teachings, and so do you; he will never leave us completely."

Konohamaru stepped back, brushed the growing tears from his eyes and glared at the hokage. "Bastard, heartless bastard." The boy stormed out of the room and left silence behind him. Orochimaru let out a soft sigh and Tsunade put an arm around his shoulder.

"He'll understand one day," she said gently.

"It's an unnatural thing to prevent death. Only a monster would attempt to learn something like that. Sarutobi knew that." He left the room with that.

Tsunade approached the bed and pulled the sheet over her sensei, covering his small smile.

Jiraiya wiped a tear from his eye as discretely as possible and then went in search of Konohamaru. Orochimaru didn't always have the lightest touch when it came to emotions and the sage thought maybe he ought to take a shot at helping the kid. Finding his sensai's grandson was a fairly easy task. Konohamaru was up on the roof crouched in a corner and whimpering.

"Hey squirt," said Jiraiya nonchalantly.

The teen looked up in surprise and then scowled and tried to hide his tears. "Why does he get to choose? Why does he get to decide who lives and who dies?"

Jiraiya leaned against the rooftop fence and crossed his arms. "He doesn't. Sure he can take someone cut into four pieces and put them back together, but he can't cure old age. People have to die sooner or later, and those that are ready to go, he lets go. When you're Sarutobi's age you'll understand that living forever isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"Go to hell!" snapped Konohamaru. "That bastard has proven there's nothing jutsu can't do. Nothing! He could keep people from dying if he wanted to. He could bring back the dead if he wanted to. He could keep people young forever if he wanted to. You think he'll ever die? You think you'll see him in a hospital bed like my grandfather?"

Jiraiya was surprised by the anger in the boy's voice, but before he could answer, Konohamaru continued.

"He' saving it for himself; some other jutsu to keep him going forever. There's a reason he's with Tsunade, she's already figured out how to stop aging. It's not fair that they get it, but no one else does."

Jiraiya shook his head, "No, it's a genjutsu, she's not actually – "

"I'll show him, and I'll show you, and I'll show all of Konoha when I'm hokage. If he can learn it, so can I," he snarled at Jiraiya, pulled a smoke bomb from his pocket and slammed it into the ground, disappearing immediately.

Jiraiya coughed and felt a deep sadness well up in him. Everything Orochimaru had done with his life had been to build peace and happiness for the village. The sage realized then that there would always be misery for someone in this world. No one's efforts, no matter how great, could truly overcome it. "Dammit," he whispered.

For the next several weeks, Konohamaru was known only be his absence or the absence of other things. Several forbidden scrolls were stolen from beneath hokage tower, including all of the recorded knowledge of the Nidaime's Edo Tensei technique. People began to disappear as well, including his teammates Udon and Moegi. The ANBU that searched for the boy could find nothing no matter where they looked.

Orochimaru was distressed by the development, but was also thankful that the ANBU always came back from their searches. Jiraiya returned after a two month absence of travels to tell the hokage that he had learned nothing.

"The kid has probably sucked himself into a black hole tampering with the jutsu's he's been after."

"The danger he could pose if he returned. Worse, though – was he right? Should I have – "

"Stop right there," Jiraiya said, setting his cup of tea down with a loud clank. "Not once in my life have I heard you question what you've accomplished. One punk kid doesn't change that."

The hokage nodded. "I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am. I'm Jiraiya senin of the sanin, trainer of punk kids since the last time there was a war, or the war before that one." He drew himself up in a dramatic pose. "Aren't you always going on about not suffering, letting bygones be bygones or whatnot? The kid, well, some people just can't let go. Thank the spirit of the third you learned to let go. If the death of your parents had driven crazy, I don't know where the village would be right now."

That thought banished Orochimaru's worries. He chuckled. "I can assure you, I would still be hokage. It probably wouldn't be all that different, really."

"Except you'd have used an army of monsters or something," joked Jiraiya. "I can see you riding to conquest with a pack of giant snakes, bringing back the dead, and corrupting children."

"Ugh, enough of this. Besides Manda, I never did take a liking to snakes, such dull creatures, always so fearful of being stepped on and caught by a hawk." His expression turned serious. "I should give up the search for the boy?"

The sage nodded. "Yes. Let the ANBU do what they usually do. If the kid makes good on his word about 'showing us all' he'll turn up one day and we'll deal with it then."

"You're a good friend Jiraiya. Have a drink with us tonight. The children should be back from their missions, there will be something to celebrate."

Jiraiya gave his patented grin. "Do you have to ask? Of course."

00000

His hair long turned to white, his hokage-ship ended and its burden passed to another, Orochimaru lay on a bed in Konoha General Hospital. He watched a nurse fiddle with the machinery near his bed and then scribble notes on a clipboard. This was all wasted effort, he thought. Just a ceremony of uselessness. He knew how this would turn out and all of this effort with the hospital could not even delay the inevitable.

The nurse left and Orochimaru was alone listening to the beeping of the machines. From his position he could see out the window and watched the clouds drift over his beloved Konoha. He liked the solitude; it was a small treasure rarely received during his tenure as hokage. The moments of stillness and quiet helped wet his pallet for the company of the people of his life. He drew in a long breath and felt the air settle into his lungs. Then he sensed their chakra and knew they would be here soon.

Within a minute or so, they were. One by one his family entered the room and gathered near his bed. Happiness ignited through him, and he smiled widely at the grim faces before him. Their sadness would not affect him, just as the grief of his family had not six months ago when he had been given the diagnosis.

At his side was his wife, who looked younger than both their raven-haired daughter Ami and their son Sai who also got most of his looks from his father. Ami had long since grown up and her husband, Minato's son, stood with their son in the back of the room. Sai, well, ANBU kept him too busy to settle down. A pity, Orochimaru thought. Two of his beloved students, Tenzo and Anko Mitarashi, were there as well. He wished he could see their child again. Kabuto was away attending to the duties of hokage in another country. The boy had grown into such a strong man.

A weak cough reminded Orochimaru that such a thing would not happen. At least, he thought, he might be able to visit with Jiraiya again.

He smiled out at them. When his parents had died, he had never thought he would truly have a family again. And now here they were, young and strong, able to carry the burden of Konoha as he had for so many years.

He looked up at his wife.

"You've never let me see you," he said weakly, a small smile on his face.

"Soon, love, soon you will," she cupped his hand against her cheek and smiled a sad smile.

"Daughter," he called in a raspy voice.

"Father," she said, her voice cracking slightly. She moved next to Tsunade and her eyes moistened as she looked down on her father.

"Remember my advice. Enjoy your life, do not suffer needlessly, and look after the village. But most importantly," he tried to breath in, but could only cough. "Most importantly, have more children."

Ami looked startled.

"Little Orochinato will need a brother or sister. And Naruto is a good man, even if his chakra count is low." He coughed again, a fit that lasted longer than anyone would have liked. In the back his grandson began to cry.

He wiped the blood from his lips and looked over at his blond son-in-law. "Bring the boy here."

Naruto complied, though Orochinato was far less willing to look upon his grandfather. The boy hid his eyes in the crook of his arm.

"Why do you cry child?" the old man asked.

"It…it hurts. I don't want to see you die."

"No, no one ever wants to see another die. There are many unpleasant things in this life." He lifted himself up to look at his grandson better. "But this is not one of them. Death is the reason for all of us to live. Our time is short, even my long life was not enough. Live as best you can, find peace and love, and do not suffer from death."

"Y-yes, grandfather. I will l-live up to your name." He wiped the remaining tears with his sleeve.

"Kukuku," chuckled Orochimaru. "Live up to your other grandfather's name, I always thought my parents silly for the name they gave me." He turned his gaze back to the room. "Son."

Sai stepped forward. He looked down at his father in an oddly detached way.

"You took my teachings too seriously," he scolded. "I never told you to get rid of all emotion. And if those damned ANBU did … then I regret not dissolving them."

"I will not suffer from your passing, father." He said succinctly.

"I know, but there is more than that," he coughed again. "The best thing your mother taught me was how to cry. Emotions are still to be experienced. Find a woman to marry, she will teach you many things ANBU cannot. Maybe that Ino girl, didn't you tell me once she was pretty?"

Sai rolled his eyes.

Orochimaru chuckled again. "There was something else I was going to say." He paused for breath and coughed again, long and hacking. Tsunade closed her eyes tightly and leaned against her daughter. He began to speak again. "I can't recall … maybe I'll ask Jiraiya …of course…"

The monitors near his bed let out a shrill noise and then went silent.

Outside the window, hidden behind a Cloak of Invisibility technique upon a nearby tree, another figure silently watched. No one inside the room could have noticed the subtle shift as the figure pressed his finger to the receiver of his radio.

"Moegi? We're aborting the mission. Send everyone back to Sound."

"I know."

"The situation has changed. I'll explain in detail when we meet up."

"I don't care what they'll think. They're my soldiers, if I say the invasion is off, the invasion is off. I'll explain later."

"I'm not going to argue with you. Look, I've changed my mind –"

"Sound is enough for me. I'll explain it later, I ... I have enough people to take care of."

"Just do it!"

The radio clicked off and the man turned his attention back to the hospital room. In a bed lay a man that he had sworn to hate. The scene of Orochimaru's death was not one he had ever expected to see. The conflicting emotions swirled inside of him, but boiled down to a single thought. "I was wrong," he whispered.

He turned then, and with utmost care and stealth he was up the tree and then over the high walls of Konoha, passing through their security barrier with the greatest of ease. Orochimaru, forth hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, left this world and in his last action gave his village one more day of peace.


End file.
